Validation of surface fluxes in climate simulations of the Arctic with the regional model REMO

Abstract

To study the variability of the thermohaline circulation in the North Atlantic on decadal time scales, the atmospheric regional model REMO is currently investigated as a component of a fully-coupled atmosphere-ice-ocean model for the Arctic/North Atlantic. A comparison of a 5-year uncoupled simulation of the regional model with a 5-year NCEP/NCAR reanalysis period is carried out in order to assess the performance of the regional model in polar and subpolar regions. The model simulates basic structures realistically. It performs well in middle latitudes but shows some problems in the region of the marginal ice zone and in continental regions with extreme temperature amplitudes. The high elevations of Greenland in the central part of the model domain give rise to problems in the model dynamics, resulting in moderate deviations from NCEP/NCAR reanalysis.